4 March: Buenos Aires - tangotastic

Lynne says...

Buenos Aires is the spiritual home of tango and we'd already seen several street performers attracting crowds of onlookers. It was clear from the number of porteños who stopped to watch that tango is just as mesmorizing to them as it is to us. Tango is a slow, sultry dance with flashes of speed and flair. Incrediby sensual and passionate, couples gaze into nothingness, transported to a different place by the feel of the music. Personally, I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face for more than a few seconds - the serious, intense expressions made me chuckle just looking at them.

Tonight was the climax of a two week tango festival and we'd arranged to meet Martine and Julian for a drink before going to an outdoor melonga - a melonga is basically a tango gathering where people come together just to dance. The street had been cordoned off and a live band played the familiar, evocative sounds of tango. Hundreds of porteños had gathered together - couples of all ages and abilities danced in the cool night air.

Tango is not just the domain of the older generation - teenagers and middle aged couples mingled with their grandparents and the odd tourist who fancied a go. I tried to use my unsuitable footware - flip-flops - as an excuse not to join in but Julian is a tango teacher from Brighton and he insisted.

Later in the evening we went to Confitireria Ideal - one of Buenos Aires' oldest dancing halls. It looked as if the building hadn't been improved for years and this only added to the sense of tradition. It was the equivalent of the English afternoon tea dance apart from the fact that is was just after midnight and the evening had only just started.

Several couples circled the dance floor, expertly avoiding each other. Everyone had dressed up for the occasion - ladies wore elegant, flowing dresses and men wore suits. In the corner of the room an elderly, well dressed gentleman in his seventies ordered a bottle of champagne and gazed into the eyes of his rather young suitor - soon they were on the dance floor with everyone else. The whole scene was completely mesmorizing and I longed for a pair of shiny black tango shoes and a beautiful flowing red dress - I looked down at my flip-flops and sighed.